2008 Mazda MAZDA6 problems
NHTSA has received 121 complaints about the 2008 Mazda MAZDA6, and 64% of them involve air bags. Next are drivetrain & axles (7%) and electrical system (4%).
At a glance
- Complaints
- 121 filed with NHTSA
- Most reported
- Air bags 64% of complaints
- Crashes and fires
- 17 and 2
- Injuries and deaths
- 7 and 0
- Typical mileage
- 59,000 miles 58 complaints with mileage
Source: NHTSA owner complaints
Where the complaints are
Share of this model year's complaints by the part of the car involved. One complaint can name more than one part, so the shares can add up to more than 100%.
When problems show up
View the numbers
| Mileage | Complaints |
|---|---|
| 0k to 20k miles | 11 |
| 20k to 40k miles | 12 |
| 40k to 60k miles | 6 |
| 60k to 80k miles | 7 |
| 80k to 100k miles | 9 |
| 100k to 120k miles | 5 |
| 120k to 140k miles | 3 |
| 140k to 160k miles | 3 |
| 160k to 180k miles | 0 |
| 180k to 200k miles | 1 |
| 200k+ miles | 1 |
What the data shows
Of the 58 complaints that include odometer readings, half describe a problem before roughly 58,000 miles. For air bags specifically, the median reported mileage is about 92,000 miles (18 complaints with mileage).
Safety-related details: 17 complaints mention a crash; 2 complaints mention a fire; 7 injuries reported.
Looking only at complaints filed within five years of the model year (so older and newer years are comparable), the 2008 ranks 15th most-complained-about out of 17 model years of the Mazda MAZDA6 with enough data (38 complaints in that window). It is also covered by 4 safety recall campaigns.
What owners wrote
A few complaints as filed, shortened and with personal details removed. The first ones are among the most serious reports for this model year; the rest are typical.
December 14, 2015 around 6:40pm I was driving home from work on highway 275e at approximately 70 MPH approaching the 71n exit ramp . Car and driver's seat heater had been running about 8 - 10 minutes. I smelled a burning smell. I was wearing jeans. When looking around to figure out where smell was coming from, my left leg came in contact with seat, I felt a "bite" sensation on the back of my leg - immediately I thought perhaps my seat was was on fire.
I purchased a 2008 madza 6 in march of 2009 and the front passenger safety belt would lock intermittently. In june 2009 my husband took the car back to sesi motors and advised them of the problem and they supposedly fixed it. However on april 7, 2010 my husband and son was in a car accident and my son had on his seatbelt however his head hit the windshield. When my husband went to take off the seatbelt it was not fastened the lock did not hold causing my sons head to hit the windshield.
Tl* the contact owned a 2008 mazda 6. While at a stop and attempting to accelerate, the driver fell asleep and crashed into a parked vehicle. The driver and passenger frontal air bags failed to deploy. The driver sustained injuries to the back, chest, and legs that required medical attention. A police report was filed. The vehicle was destroyed. The failure mileage was 143,000.
2008 mazda 6 with less than 5000 miles. Starter caught on fire, dealer said rodent chewed wire. Not a warranty issue. My insurance had to pay. Pictures taken and my agent insured me when he filed with mazda they would take care of this. Today 11/11/08 claim denied mazda said its not their fault. What ever happened to customer service.
Tl*the contact owns a 2008 mazda, mazda6. While the contact was driving approximately 40 MPH, the vehicle was involved in a crash and the air bags did not deploy. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer where it was repaired. The dealer stated that the impact did not warrrant air bag deployment. A police report was filed. The failure mileage was approximately 70,000.